1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treatment liquid, an ink set, and an image forming method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various inkjet recording media have been studied, while there has been a demand for techniques capable of forming high-quality images. Various ink materials have also been studied in view of water resistance, light resistance, etc.
For example, pigments are widely used for a colorant that is one of components of the ink material. The pigments, when used, are dispersed in a medium such as water. The important things for use of the pigments in dispersion are, for example, the dispersed particle size, the stability after dispersion, the uniformity of the size, and the ejectability from a discharging head, and various studies on techniques for improving these problems have been made.
In the time in which recording is performed on a standard paper or the like, sometimes, sufficient performance may not be achieved with respect to coloring density or other characteristics such as fixation (such as scratch resistance), resolution, and gloss unevenness. Particularly in order to increase the inkjet recording speed, high-speed recording suitability has been required not of shuttle scan method but of single-pass method, in which recording is possible by a single head operation.
Concerning the related art, there is disclosed an inkjet recording method of recording an image on a recording medium using an ink having a specific ratio of a surface tension to a viscosity, and a liquid composition that has a specific ratio of a surface tension to a viscosity and is capable of forming an aggregate when brought into contact with the ink (see for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-10833).
There is also disclosed a reaction liquid that is capable of aggregating an ink composition and contains a polyvalent metal salt, ammonia, and benzotriazole or a benzotriazole derivative in order to achieve good printing quality and a high level of storage stability and discharge stability (see for example JP-A No. 2001-1627).
There is also disclosed a treatment liquid that is capable of aggregating an ink composition and contains resin fine particles and benzotriazole in order to form a high-quality image without causing corrosion of a head component (see for example JP-A No. 2003-341218).
In the inkjet recording method disclosed in JP-A No. 2004-10833, however, aggregability of the ink is insufficient, and the dot diameter stability and the image scratch resistance are also insufficient. The treatment liquid and the reaction liquid disclosed in JP-A No. 2001-1627 and JP-A No. 2003-341218 are not considered to be sufficient in terms of scratch resistance, dot diameter stability, feeding properties of the recording medium in the image formation in a long run, and coating properties of the treatment liquid.
An object of the invention is to provide a treatment liquid that can form an image having a high level of scratch resistance, dot diameter stability, and feeding properties of the recording medium and that has excellent coating properties, in the image formation in a long run.
Another object of the invention is to provide an ink set including an ink composition and a treatment liquid that can form an image having a high level of scratch resistance, dot diameter stability, and feeding properties of the recording medium and that has excellent coating properties, in the image formation in a long run.
A further object of the invention is to provide an image forming method capable of forming an image having a high level of scratch resistance, dot diameter stability, and feeding properties of the recording medium in the image formation in a long run.